Lost/Forgotten Album #407

On their second full-length album, California's rattiest pop-metal scuzzbags let their dim light shine. When they made it big with "Everything About You," everything about Ugly Kid Joe screamed "one-hit wonder," but on Menace to Sobriety the bandmembers prove they're not going to let their 15 minutes go quietly. Forget the pop, Menace is UKJ's metal offering. Out come the Sabbath references, the monster grooves, and the snarly vocals: This is as ugly as they got. The band's schoolyard sense of humor is still intact, and here the Joe backs it up with the ability to bring the noise, big time. Add grunge maven GGGarth's spanking tight production, and Menace is by far the UKJ album with the most bang for your buck. Highlights include the funk-addled punch of "C.U.S.T.," the coiled surge of "Jesus Rode a Harley," and Whitfield Crane's venomous vocal turn on "God." Ironically though, Menace to Sobriety turned out to be Ugly Kid Joe's poorest seller, and the band was dropped by its label, Mercury, soon after. America's Least Wanted, indeed.

Replies to This Discussion

Really kind of like the production on this, sounds very analog which is great IMO! I also really the heaviness and the pace. It’s the vocals and catchiness of the songs that falls down for me a bit.

Really liked Clover for all the reasons listed above, and true to form the vocal distracts me. The *wocka wocka* guitar really grabs at me on C.U.S.T. (small sidebar - when I see a song title like this I listen extra close hoping the chorus cracks me up kind of like ILBT's did when I first heard it, yes, I expected something racy - but nope, not here!!)

Milkman’s Son, why hasn’t this topic ever been the subject of a song before? Maybe it has who knows. Brilliant! Could be the RED track!

Jesus rode a Donkey... Blasphemy much? Sheesh! There are some churches that may add this to their worship sets… Sad but true.